When Calls Goodbye
by SSXLoverKaoriBrodiMac
Summary: When Elizabeth is diagnosed with cancer, she has to figure out how to tell Jack. How will Jack react to such news? What will happen to Elizabeth? Positive ending, I promise!
1. Prologue

(No One's POV)

It was a normal day in Coal Valley, the sun was shining and everybody was up to something. Elizabeth Thatcher was teaching the children in the saloon, when she started to get a headache. She had a cold and it wasn't going away. It had been longer than a week and it was getting worse.

"All right children, please get out your science books and we'll began learning about the-" Elizabeth was interrupted by a sneeze and then a coughing fit that came upon her.

"Miss Thatcher, are you alright?" Gabe asked as Elizabeth put a hand to her chest- which was dry and hurting now.

"Yes Gabe, I'm fine. It gets stuffy in here, that's all. Thank you." She smiled and continued the lesson, while her headache got worse.

* * *

The days passed, and Elizabeth's headache got worse. Abigail suggested that she see the doctor. "It's just a little cold, I'm fine," Elizabeth would say and she would continue on, stopping every now and then to endure a coughing spasm.

Right before she was about to head out the door for school, Elizabeth's stomach began to toss and turn. She ran to the sink and began to throw up until there was nothing left. Abigail sent Elizabeth back upstairs as she cleaned up and sent for the Company Doctor.

Shortly before the doctor was to arrive, Elizabeth got a bloody nose that wouldn't stop. She pinched her nose, tilted her head back, put a cold rag on the back of her neck, but nothing worked. Once the Company Doctor arrived, he was able to stop it. He checked Elizabeth's temperature, heart beat, blood pressure, and even drew some blood for testing back at the office. But unfortunately, no medicine could help with what was wrong.

"It's a _very_ rare disease called 'cancer'. There's no cure and there's not much known about it right now…"

"What does that mean exactly?" Abigail asked, as she sat with Elizabeth upstairs on her bed.

The Company Doctor shook his head. "She doesn't have much longer."

Elizabeth was in shock. "So… I'm going to die?"

"I'm afraid so, nobody has ever survived having this illness before. I recommend that you take it easy. As long as you don't…" Elizabeth started to zone out. Her world was crashing down. Cancer? Dying? How could this be happening? She was the school teacher at Coal Valley! Plus, what would happen to Jack? Oh, Jack. She couldn't think about him. Elizabeth's mind was swirling. This couldn't be happening to her…

The rest of the day was a blur. Abigail showed the doctor out the door and told Elizabeth it would be alright. Elizabeth allowed herself a day to lie in bed and cry. Elizabeth was going to die and no one could save her.


	2. Chapter 1

(Jack's POV)

I went to the cafe Monday morning to walk Elizabeth to school. Last Friday, she wasn't at the saloon because she wasn't feeling well . I was going to visit, but Abigail had said it wasn't a good time. So here I was, inside of Abigail's cafe, waiting for Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth? You up there?" I called up the stairs. She was probably wanting to make a grand entrance.

"Coming." She descended down the stairs like a goddess. Her curly brown hair flowed down her back like a waterfall.

I gave Elizabeth a kiss on the cheek and held her hand. Usually, she'd blush right up… But something seemed off about her today.

We got towards the saloon and Elizabeth squeezed my hand. "Can we talk for a minute?"

"Sure?" _What did she need to tell me? Did she not love me?_

We sat down on a bench outside of the saloon. Nobody was really in town yet, so it was private.

"Jack, I…" Elizabeth looked down at her lap and then looked back up with tears in her eyes. "I'm sick…I have… cancer."

Cancer. I'd heard of that before through word of mouth. Not many people got it, but there was no cure… It hit me- no cure. Elizabeth was going to die.

Elizabeth started to cry and I pulled her into me and held her close. "It'll be okay… Shhh… We'll be okay, I'm not leaving you."

After a few minutes and some sniffles, Elizabeth stood up. "I'd better go inside, the kids will be here soon… And they're not gonna teach themselves." She turned around for a moment and looked back at me. "We'll talk about this more later, okay?"

"Okay." I headed back to the County Jail and noticed that Rip was asleep. I sat down at my desk, as the tears overcame me and I began to cry.


	3. Chapter 2

(Jack's POV)

I found myself back at Abigail's Cafe. Sure enough, she was pulling a batch of cookies out of the oven.

"Hello Jack, can I get you anything?" She wiped her hands on her apron and smiled at me.

"Elizabeth told me..." Her smile immediately faded.

"Jack I'm… I'm just as upset as you." She gestured to a table and we sat down. "I've been baking all afternoon to push the thought out of my mind."

"I can't believe it has to be her. She's changed this town." I held back a sob. "She's changed me."

"Elizabeth has made an impact on everyone. She was the light after the mining accident." Abigail smoothed the tablecloth. "Maybe that's why she's sick… God wants her back sooner."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"What you're going to do, what I'm going to do, what we're _all_ going to do, is be there for her and help her get through this. We need to be strong."

"How can I be strong when the love of my life is dying right before my eyes!" I slammed a fist down on the table and then took a few deep breaths. "Okay... how long does she have left?"

"The doctor said about a month or so. With no cure or medicine, it's very quick." Tears started to fall down Abigail's cheeks. "This can't be happening. I've already lost my husband and my son…"

We talked for a while longer, then I headed out to town, to see if everything was alright with the rest of Coal Valley. That's the hard thing about sadness, the world doesn't stop. Nobody else feels the same way you do and nobody knows.

Once school was out, Elizabeth and I went for a walk. I turned to her and put my hands on her shoulders. "Elizabeth, I'm here for you and I will stand by you, forever and a day. I'm always here for you and this cancer," that word felt like poison on my tongue, "changes nothing."

"Jack." She hugged me for a while, then we continued our walk. We talked about our past, Coal Valley… and we even laid under the moonlight sky, looking at the stars, talking about our future.

"I was planning on staying in Coal Valley forever. I don't want to go back to the city. I think I was meant to be a small-town girl." I wanted to remember her voice, her laugh. The small smile she gets when she tries to hide it. I held her hand and never wanted to let it go.

"I was anything but pleased about my assignment here," Elizabeth chuckled. "Fine, I was _very_ upset about being here at first. But the town grew on me. I like it here."

"Would you ever want to go to your dream post?"

"Cape Fullerton? Nah, Coal Valley is better. I love the steady diet of coal dust too."

Elizabeth laughed so hard when I said that. "Oh! I remember that!" She went on to quote what she said to me when we met. "I can take care of me own stubbed toes, thank you very much."

This was the perfect evening, before it all went downhill.


End file.
